Residents battle to keep land state wants for south suburban airport

IDOT uses eminent domain to acquire land for Peotone plan

Willis and Vivian Bramstaedt don't have big plans for retirement; they simply want to live out their remaining years on the land their family has farmed in rural Beecher since the 1950s.

But when a letter from the state arrived in April, the Bramstaedts knew their days on the land were numbered.

It may be years still before the Federal Aviation Administration gives the final stamp of approval on a controversial airport in south suburban Peotone designed to ease congestion at O'Hare and Midway. But already the Illinois Department of Transportation has quietly begun the process of eminent domain to force families such as the Bramstaedts off their land. Four such condemnation cases are under way in Will County courts, the first in what IDOT officials believe will be a wave of contentious negotiations through the court system. As the state ramps up pressure to buy while property values are low, some landowners are digging in their heels.

"Our schools are failing; our health system is falling apart; the state is out of money, and this is what they're doing?" asked Vivian Bramstaedt, 72. "It's bewildering. It doesn't make any sense."

It's also troubling to some lawmakers, who fear that the use of eminent domain before the FAA agrees to the project sets a dangerous precedent.

"Using eminent domain to take people's property for a project that has not been approved really concerns me. What's the rush?" asked state Sen. Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, the Senate Republican leader whose district includes parts of Will, Cook and DuPage counties. "Clearly the people behind the airport want it to move forward, but wanting it to move forward and moving it forward are two different things."

U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson, D-Crete, raised similar concerns, saying, "If the state is going to pursue eminent domain acquisitions, it should first determine the airport plan and submit it to the FAA for approval."

Susan Shea, IDOT's director of aeronautics, said using eminent domain in this instance is a difficult decision. The state purchased about half of the roughly 4,400 acres it says it will need for the airport's first phase from families willing to sell. But Shea knows it's going to get tougher.

"I'm about to exhaust willing sellers, and in order to get this done we need to pursue condemnation," Shea said. "This isn't something I take lightly."

And the timing couldn't be better for the state, Shea noted, with land values in a historic slump. That has simply created another hardship for landowners who fear their properties are being taken from them at the worst possible time.

"We don't have the luxury of waiting until prices turn around," said Peotone resident Jim Verduin, 57. "Everybody is basically living a nightmare right now."

For decades, political forces have talked about building a third major airport to serve the Chicago region in the rural southeast corner of Will County. What plans exist for the airport near Peotone include small cargo planes and freight shipping, which could make Will County a global shipping and transportation hub, officials say.

If, as expected, the airport grows one day to include passenger flights, officials say it could bring millions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs to the area.

But opposition has been fierce, with homeowners and farmers staging rallies, writing letters to officials in Springfield and Washington, D.C., and publicly chastising governors from George Ryan to Pat Quinn.

"Some are opposed because they are fourth- or fifth-generation farmers, love this land, and call it home. Others oppose suburban sprawl and the destruction of excellent, irreplaceable farmland," said George Ochsenfeld, president of a local citizens group against the airport.

In April, IDOT approached the Bramstaedts about purchasing 75 acres of the family's roughly 160-acre corn and soybean farm. The offer came to about $9,500 an acre, 50 percent less than what the state purchased neighboring land for two years ago and a quarter of the price some land sold for when a private company bought parcels there to build an intermodal site in 2006, records show.

The Bramstaedts, who have yet to respond to the state's offer, know they have few options if they want to keep their land intact. Two Peotone-area families, split into four cases and representing about 500 acres, have rejected similar offers and now must go through the court process to try to hold onto their land or sell it at a higher price.

The families may seek to have a judge dismiss the case outright. If not, both sides will hire property appraisers to determine the fair market value of the land. If a settlement is not reached, a jury could decide the price.